AFTER A fairly successful stint with motor racing, actor Ajit's pet project now is meeting his fans and spreading the message of eco-conservation.

He has been traversing the State systematically, covering entire districts and ensuring that at least some of his fans go back enlightened on the need to plant more trees and segregate waste at home.

In Coimbatore to meet his fans in this region, he spent a whole 12 hours shaking hands with them and handing out pamphlets that detail the need to protect Mother Earth.

His fans are not complaining. Many waited for hours to meet him, even foregoing lunch in the process. And, shaking hands? Well, that is their idea of heaven.

Ajit played the perfect host, making every fan feel comfortable, walking up to talk to those physically challenged and trying his best to make them forget their disability for a while.

Maadhu, a middle-aged woman who cannot walk, crawled her way up to the Ramakrishna Kalyana Mandapam to meet her dream hero. Students from Mettupalayam, who skipped school to attend the programme, said they would go back and plant trees if that is what `He' wanted them to do.

"This programme makes possible two things  it allows my fans to meet me and take a photograph without spending money on travel and gives me a platform to talk about environment protection," says Ajit.

"We talk about how the Government has failed to protect the environment.

But, it is we who have to take the initiative. I ask all my fans to plant trees.

Even if each of the 38,000 branches of my fan clubs plants one tree a year, the world will become a greener place," he adds.

But, will the message reach all his fans?

"It will. I have seen back home in Chennai that the saplings planted near auto stands are thriving. Auto drivers might be uneducated; but they seem to realise the need to protect the environment."